War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game for Windows, Linux, Mac and PlayStation®4 dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft from World War II and the Cold War.

Recent Reviews:

Mostly Positive
(1,528)
- 73% of the 1,528 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive.

All Reviews:

Very Positive
(85,650)
- 82% of the 85,650 user reviews for this game are positive.

February 20

Today we’re going to talk about global changes to the creation of landscape surfaces, and we’ll demonstrate the improvements that players will be able to see in all the familiar ground locations.

We recently discussed our new algorithm for landscape relief detail (displacement mapping), that we’re planning to introduce to the game after the release of War Thunder update 1.77. However, the biggest change that Dagor Engine 5.0 will bring to the game is a new technology for creating surfaces in locations for ground battles. We have reworked the technology for creating landscapes in War Thunder in order to enhance the level of detail and realism in their component materials. So, in addition to the previously existing normal textures, translucency and albedo coloured textures, we are introducing a detailed roughness map, ambient occlusion maps and a ground type map (such as grass, sand, dirt, etc) allowing us to enhance the shading quality while adding a whole new level of ground detalization.

This required us to improve the landscape of all the game’s current locations in the current update. It’s a tremendous amount of work and we believe that it was worth the effort: familiar landscapes now look completely different thanks to the new realistic land and ground. Take a look at the level of landscape detail we have managed to achieve:

And for the any new locations, changes in technology will allow us to achieve even more detailed and diverse surfaces.

We should also point out that the new technology for creating landscape surfaces, together with displacement mapping, display the operation of tank suspension with a new level of detail. Before, the suspension worked only for fairly large objects: boulders, borders, and bumps. After the release of War Thunder 1.77, we will be able to see the suspension working on less uneven ground like ruts, features on dirt roads, and broken ground. It will look like this:https://youtu.be/eKoF_MFF_JwThe changes to the technology for creating landscapes are global in nature, and they will function on all graphic settings in the game. Now even people playing on slower PCs with ultra-low graphics settings will notice a big difference in the landscape detail:

February 19

Today’s edition of our devblog will discuss how the updated Dagor Engine 5.0 render will add volume to the War Thunder world. It’s all about light and shade!

Global Illumination

Several lighting and shading algorithms are used when rendering each frame in War Thunder. In the updated Dagor Engine 5.0 render, we are improving the lighting model with Realtime Global Illumination. Global Illumination is the common term for lighting algorithms, this includes not only direct illumination, but also reflected and scattered light from surfaces and area lights (such as sky and clouds). Our game will have shadows that objects cast from ambient illumination and the sky making the visuals more volumetric and detailed in shadows. Global Illumination will also introduce light reflected from other objects and the environment. All of it will be implemented in real time for large scale locations (the average WT location is 32x32 km) for destructible and dynamic objects

Like other upgrades to the game’s visuals, Global Illumination will be available as an option in the graphic settings menu and will be enabled by default for high graphical settings.

Global Illumination - is a complex mix of algorithms, a very difficult and high-technology task. It’s enough to say that at the moment there is no game or game engine that has a fully fledged dynamic GI for large-scale locations. Algorithms where the objects are supposed to be static or require preliminary calculations won’t work in War Thunder: dozens of large-scale location will require excessive memory and hard drive space while destructible environment affects the whole geometry very significantly. That is why some of algorithms and improvements will, perhaps, become available after switching on some personal settings after update 1.77 is released. Meanwhile, a general list of changes is already available.

See the difference in shadow rendering and visual perception of the volume with the new Dagor Engine 5.0 shadowing algorithm.

Shadows on effects

Effects are often separate from the rest of the photorealistic rendering, as most effects are simplified versions of much more complex processes, like smoke and fire. That’s why the effects render is usually a separate process. In the Dagor Engine 5.0, we have calculated the shading of effects by environmental objects, such as exhaust fumes or clouds of smoke from a burning tank, making them look more three-dimensional and natural in the final image:

Contact shadows

In our new Dagor Engine 5.0 graphics engine, to be introduced in War Thunder 1.77, we’re presenting an algorithm for creating contact shadows, which make the image more realistic and give depth to maps. Technically, the algorithm for drawing contact shadows relies in fact, on rendering each frame, every pixel in the image undergoes ray tracing for a short distance toward the source of light. The tracing takes place through other objects already drawn on the screen. If an obstacle appears in the ray’s path, an additional shadow is created.

Changes in the grass will be particularly noticeable: grass in the game could previously take shading from other objects but couldn’t give off shadows itself. The technology of contact shadows not only allows grass to give off its own shadow on the ground, but also give shade to other grass. As a result, grassy meadows and fields will now look deeper and more realistic, both up close and at distance.

Apart from grass, the technology of contact shadows provides a means to create great depth in all objects far away from the player. For example, window frames, rivets on vehicles, and other objects receive visually more correct sub pixel shading, in contrast to classic shading methods in which shadows at great distances are drawn only on large objects.

About This Game

War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game for Windows, Linux, Mac and PlayStation®4 dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft from World War II and the Cold War. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea, fighting with millions of players from all over the world in an ever-evolving environment.

In War Thunder, aircraft, ground forces and naval ships collaborate in realistic competitive battles. You can choose from over 1000 vehicles and an extensive variety of combat situations many of which are exclusive. You can find yourself blasting your pursuers from a bomber turret, defending your teammates on the ground from an air raid with anti-aircraft guns, shooting down enemy planes with a firestorm from multiple rocket launchers, or trying to sink an enemy warship with a torpedo from a fast attack boat.